Freshwater Stingray fishing 2009 – 01 10 2009
Veteran angler Todd Wayne from New York USA visited the infamous area 51 section of the Maeklong River near Samut Songkran for some freshwater stingray fishing.
Corresponding their visit to coincide with a strong incoming tide the anglers quickly positioned baits at various intervals across the tidal river.
After only literally positioning the baits for a matter of minutes a slow and ponderous take indicated the presence of Giant freshwater stingray.
Winding down hard into the stingray saw the rod bent towards the water as it took the full weight of the fish.
The giant freshwater stingray on this occasion was only a small specimen which soon succumbed to the continual pressure applied by the angler from above.
The freshwater stingray was quickly brought to the surface before being netted and brought onto the boat.
The stingray which was identified as being a small male of an estimated 20kg’s and was released after photography.
Two more small males followed with relatively low estimated weights of 30 and 40kg’s respectively.
After a short break in action the angler was once again connected to a Giant freshwater stingray that this time seemed to be a much larger specimen.
On this occasion the angler battled the freshwater stingray for over twenty minutes as it powerfully moved upstream.
The boat was repositioned each time allowing the angler to apply maximum pressure from above.
After almost twenty minutes the fish was finally prised from the muddy riverbed where it was fought out in the middle layers of the river.
Finally the freshwater stingray was netted and brought to the riverside.
The Giant freshwater stingray was estimated to weigh 80kg’s and was identified as being a female.
The stingray was released after a short period of photography.
With still a short amount of fishing time available the angler quickly returned to the productive area and once again repositioned the baits.
Thirty minutes passed before the distinctive sound of the multiplier indicated yet another take.
The run slowly developed into a blistering take and saw the angler putting full pressure on the fish from above.
The rod was bent violently towards the surface of the river as the stingray moved powerfully across the bottom.
The boat began to be dragged behind the fish causing the captain to expertly steer the boat into a more direct fighting position.
With the fight now going on for over thirty minutes it was clear that the stingray was an extremely large freshwater stingray.
With the rod creaking under the continuous strain form the fish the blank suddenly shattered sending the angler flying back in his chair.
Quickly stripping line from the broken rod the anglers quickly retied the line to a new prototype rod supplied from Conoflex in the UK.
After winding all the slack line back onto the reel the angler once again commenced battle with the unseen predator.
With the new 130lb class boat rod now attached to the stingray the fight became slightly easier and saw the angler being able to move the stingray from the bottom on several occasions.
Several more minutes passed before the Giant freshwater stingray was finally lifted from the bottom.
After a few more fraught moments at mid water the Giant freshwater stingray finally surfaced next to the boat where it was netted on the first attempt.
The monster Giant freshwater stingray was measured at a width of 1.7m’s and was estimated to weigh 150kg’s.
This was to be Todd’s first encounter with the awesome Giant freshwater stingray and certainly the most stingrays ever caught by a client whilst fishing a one day session at the Maeklong River.
